CSULB University Players Presents ‘Jack Goes Boating’ March 1

Cal State Long Beach University Players present Jack Goes Boating by Bob Glaudini, March 1 through March 16 in the Players Theatre. Directed by Jeff Paul, Jack Goes Boating is an endearing journey through the hopes and fears that permeate everyday existence.

Set in the entirely ordinary world of working class New Yorkers, Jack Goes Boating revolves around Jack, a reggae-loving limousine driver slowly starting down a path of self-improvement. Jack’s coworker Clyde and his wife, Lucy, set Jack up on a blind date with Lucy’s chatty but fragile colleague Connie. As Jack and Connie’s relationship takes shape, Clyde and Lucy’s own marriage begins to unravel, leading both couples to reconsider the future state of their unions.

Director Jeff Paul explains that the “depth of the storytelling and the richness of the [writer Bob Glaudini’s] piece lies in the characters.” The characters “mostly play by the rules,” says Paul. They must navigate “things that lie beyond their own experience, but lack the instructions.” The tensions between rules and imagination; doubts and expectations, lend a profound undercurrent to the deceptively simple narrative.

Jeff Paul’s previous directing efforts for University Players include Almost, Maine; Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; The Tempest; and The Boys Next Door. He has performed with or directed for most of the major local theatres and college programs, including Cal Rep; Long Beach City College; Musical Theatre West; International City Theatre; Long Beach Playhouse and Studio Theatre; El Camino College; Saddleback Civic Light Opera; Elephant Theatre Company; Santa Ana College; Disneyland; and more. His work has also been staged at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Stage; The OC Pavilion; SOKA University; Plummer Auditorium; and other venues. Jeff currently serves as Director of the Music and Theatre Conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts, and is listed in Who’s Who Among American Teachers and Who’s Who in American Education. A graduate of the CSULB Theatre Arts Department, Jeff has been honored as Outstanding Graduate of the College of the Arts, and Outstanding Alumnus of the CSULB Theatre Arts Department.

Jack Goes Boating opens Friday, March 1, and runs for 14 performances, closing on Saturday, March 16. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 pm with Saturday matinees at 2 pm on March 9 and 16. This production is in the Players Theatre on the CSULB South Campus, accessible via West Campus Drive. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $12 for seniors and students (with valid ID). Parking is available next to the theater for $5. For tickets and information, please call (562) 985-5526 or visit www.csulb.edu/depts/theatre.